By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A Nigerian teacher, Mr Akeem Badru, will slug it out with five others in a battle to emerge the overall winner of the 2023 Cambridge Dedicated Teacher Awards.
Mr Badru was among the regional winners announced by the organisers as he was top in the Central and Southern African category, putting Nigeria on the world map of top-quality educators.
The public will have to vote for their favourite teacher out of the six regional winners to become the overall winner of the Cambridge Dedicated Teacher Awards 2023 on June 6.
Mr Badru is a Primary Teacher from St Michael RCM Primary School, Ogunpa Lunloye, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
He was picked for his achievement in First Step Initiatives, a STEM project where he uses craft and model-making to promote inquisitiveness, creativity and critical thinking.
In addition, as TeachSDG Ambassador, he financed the construction of a borehole for the village as his contribution towards the achievement of 2030 SDGs and to solve the problem of water-related diseases that keep his pupils out of school.
As a regional winner of the 2023 Cambridge Dedicated Teachers Awards, Akeem Badru will receive £500 worth of books or digital resources, along with a Cambridge Dedicated Teacher Awards trophy and promotion for him and his school. He will also feature on a thank you page at the front of new Cambridge University Press Education textbooks from February 2024.
“I want to appreciate Cambridge University Press for this award. This award will encourage me to work harder and also serve as motivation for other teachers in the country.
“The teaching profession is a noble job, and I am glad you appreciate the important roles that teachers play in shaping the minds, characters and lives of people in society.
“Through First Step Initiatives, I will continue to help children build the skills that will allow them to unlock their potential,” Mr Badru said.
On his part, the Publishing Director for Education at Cambridge University Press, Mr Matthew Walker, said, “The achievements of our 2023 regional winners, plus the thousands of nominations we received for the competition, speak volumes for the value of teachers’ roles and the positive impact they have on students.
“We hope that this recognition will continue to inspire teachers to deliver exceptional teaching and encourage the next generation of learners to aim high in their ambitions.”
Run by Cambridge University Press, the Cambridge Dedicated Teacher Awards are a global competition which celebrates the efforts of teachers around the world. This year, the competition received over 11,000 nominations from 99 countries. An increase of over 30 per cent compared to last year’s nominations.
The global competition gives students, parents and other teachers the chance to nominate a current primary or secondary teacher for something wonderful they have done.
Now in its fifth year, the awards demonstrate the inspiring and positive impact of teachers across the globe and give students a platform to say, ‘thank you’.